Car wash or not?
#1
Car wash or not?
Here is the Northeast (NJ), I have no choice from Nov. - March (below freezing and outside water is turned off) and have to use a good car wash to wash my cars - good I mean no brushes and hand detailed at the end (dried, windows, wheels, etc.). There are lots of other "nice" cars at the one I use (Porsche, MB, Lexus, and exotics). To date I have had no problems - i.e., broken parts or scratches. What do others do?
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#3
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2010 ML550, 2010 E350 4M, 1966 Corvette Convt C2
I use a car wash year round. It has absolutly no brushes and detail work at the end is done with soft, clean towels. No problems at all. Only issue with them is they do not do the interior.
#4
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Originally Posted by pasto27774
Here is the Northeast (NJ), I have no choice from Nov. - March (below freezing and outside water is turned off) and have to use a good car wash to wash my cars - good I mean no brushes and hand detailed at the end (dried, windows, wheels, etc.). There are lots of other "nice" cars at the one I use (Porsche, MB, Lexus, and exotics). To date I have had no problems - i.e., broken parts or scratches. What do others do?
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
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#5
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2006 SL600, 2001 S500, 1996 SL320
It would depend
It would really depend on the color of your cars. Dark colors, Black for one I would avoid. Too easy to get scratched evenly lightly.
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2015 C300
I use a local brushless car wash and it always looks great, no swirls or problems on the body with the light colored Desert Silver- however the wheel guiding track had a metal rail that did scrape the rims occcasionally on the E320, so depending on the rims I'd be careful about that. Just took the new silver gray car through yesterday and it was fine - both body and rims looks great.
Last edited by plocjim; 12-24-2005 at 08:05 AM.
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06 320E CDI, Porsche 911 C2, Pontiac Montana
I pressure wash my cars in a coin-op in the winter. I NEVER wash my cars in a car wash and unfortunatly, I don't have any place to wash my car indoors. What I am going to try is to pressure wash the dirt, bring a bucket of CLEAN warm soapy water in a 5 gallon bucket and rinse it with their pressure wash. That way I still control the "scratch factor" and not have to worry about freezing up my driveway and making it into an ice rink.
The again, I could move to some southern states. I hear they have a "natural" car wash. (sic!)
The again, I could move to some southern states. I hear they have a "natural" car wash. (sic!)
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'07 Porsche 997TT
I second C43AMG's advice. We get plenty of opportunities where we can wash the car. Easier for me since my 55 is not my daily driver, so I can let it sit in the garage. Also, as someone else mentioned what color is your car. Mine is silver and I wouldn't take it to the car wash nor do I let the dealer wash it when I bring it in for service. I'm probably a bit extreme, but oh well. Anyway, if your car is black I'd rather have it dirty than let someone else wash it. Do you own or lease the car? That would also play into my decision.
Two things about the car wash that scare me. One, is the "drying" routine at the end. They typically use cheap towels that will scratch the crap out of your car. If you have to go tell them not to dry it. Just drive off and do it yourself when you get home with a GOOD HIGH QUALITY waffle weave towel. The other thing (and this is what got me into doing it myself several years ago) is if you watch the line of cars go in they will grab a wash mitt (probably a lousy one at that) stick it in the bucket and wash the car. Next car comes in and they stick the mitt in the same bucket, which is now full of all the crap from the previous car. They are now dragging a dirt covered mitt all over your paint. Gives me the chills just thinking about it!
Two things about the car wash that scare me. One, is the "drying" routine at the end. They typically use cheap towels that will scratch the crap out of your car. If you have to go tell them not to dry it. Just drive off and do it yourself when you get home with a GOOD HIGH QUALITY waffle weave towel. The other thing (and this is what got me into doing it myself several years ago) is if you watch the line of cars go in they will grab a wash mitt (probably a lousy one at that) stick it in the bucket and wash the car. Next car comes in and they stick the mitt in the same bucket, which is now full of all the crap from the previous car. They are now dragging a dirt covered mitt all over your paint. Gives me the chills just thinking about it!
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2006 E350 4Matic, 1990 300SE, 1984 190E, 1994 BMW 540ia
Good advice....I follow something similar. My town has a so called "touchless carwash" place which is the most popular carwash in town. (Plus only $8 for a full wash + vaccumed interior!) So the machines don't touch the car...OK agreed, but there is touching! This one dude has a long armed mop and he quickly mops the lower body/wheels with some soapy mystery water from a bucket before it goes into the carwash building. The reason they do this is because the automated pressure wash alone will not get all that winter salt and dirt off the bottom part of the car. I tell them to skip that part even though they always insist. (it will scratch the HELL out of your car. That mop is used on EVERY car and it's surely full of dirt! They don't care if they scratch your lower body...99% of people wouldn't notice) I instead vouch for $2 extra for extra under-body wash which washes the underbody/lower part a bit extra with the jets. After the car comes out of the building....grope #2....6 guys come with white towels to hand dry. I don't trust it! What they do is take used towels, just throw them in a huge dryer and reuse them all day without actually cleaning them! I skip that too and just race home with the car wet and hand dry the car in my garage. The car ends up looking mint and scratch free....Clean car. Ahhh! Till the next winter storm that is!
Last edited by rockyfeller; 12-25-2005 at 01:36 PM.
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2005 Carlsson CD32 E320 CDI Inline-6
Chris, you're not extreme....
$50K, $85K, whatever, its a lot of jack for transportation.
There is nothing wrong with taking good care of it. There really is not that much more effort between an A+ and a C-. Just 20% better.
And that's the difference in car washing...it just takes a little consciousness and common sense to segregate grit from water or anything else that touches your clearcoat.
In the house, you don't wipe the toilet and kitchen counters with the same rag, and then take the rag to your neighbors house and do the same. And pound for pound, houses cost a fraction of what cars do.
Not only do I detest clearcoat damage in my car, its the first thing I notice in someone else's ride. I saw a W211, dark blue, with scuffs so bad the paint just looked flat. Just retarded, go get a an Accord or Sonata if that's your attitude!
There is nothing wrong with taking good care of it. There really is not that much more effort between an A+ and a C-. Just 20% better.
And that's the difference in car washing...it just takes a little consciousness and common sense to segregate grit from water or anything else that touches your clearcoat.
In the house, you don't wipe the toilet and kitchen counters with the same rag, and then take the rag to your neighbors house and do the same. And pound for pound, houses cost a fraction of what cars do.
Not only do I detest clearcoat damage in my car, its the first thing I notice in someone else's ride. I saw a W211, dark blue, with scuffs so bad the paint just looked flat. Just retarded, go get a an Accord or Sonata if that's your attitude!
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W211 & Q7
it is a car, isn't it ? soon or later, you will trade it in and get a new one.
there is nothing wrong with car wash, you only need to find a good brushless one. I think washing car is a good exercise in the warm days. but it is good to use the car wash to clean your car during the cold days, especially, car wash cleans the salt from the bottom of your car. I don't see you have a way to do it by your own.
there is nothing wrong with car wash, you only need to find a good brushless one. I think washing car is a good exercise in the warm days. but it is good to use the car wash to clean your car during the cold days, especially, car wash cleans the salt from the bottom of your car. I don't see you have a way to do it by your own.
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2023 GLC 300 4MATIC
I took mine to the coin wand one yesterday. I took a bucket from home and filled it there with soap and used my own micro fiber towels to clean the car. Gently rinsed it. Pulled out and used my Calif wand and a micro towel and it looked great.
#14
also realize taht before you bought your car, it was sitting outdoors in the dealers lot where it was rained and snowed on. ANd im sure the dealer had washed it several times before they sold it to you.
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Originally Posted by kaggz1227
also realize taht before you bought your car, it was sitting outdoors in the dealers lot where it was rained and snowed on. ANd im sure the dealer had washed it several times before they sold it to you.
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Originally Posted by Otto
it is a car, isn't it ? soon or later, you will trade it in and get a new one.
there is nothing wrong with car wash, you only need to find a good brushless one. I think washing car is a good exercise in the warm days. but it is good to use the car wash to clean your car during the cold days, especially, car wash cleans the salt from the bottom of your car. I don't see you have a way to do it by your own.
there is nothing wrong with car wash, you only need to find a good brushless one. I think washing car is a good exercise in the warm days. but it is good to use the car wash to clean your car during the cold days, especially, car wash cleans the salt from the bottom of your car. I don't see you have a way to do it by your own.
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I think we've already established that it's not the "brushless" aspect of a carwash that some of us die hards are worried about. On the contrary, there is LOTS of "touching" going on. Usually with dirty, cheap, towels and mitts. But, to each his own.
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'16 528i MSport
I used to go only to the dealer to get it washed but who can wait 1.5 hours for a flippin car wash. Ray Catena sucks with that, that you have to take it to the dealer and they do rather than the service center...
It's a lease, so who cares...go to Brunswick Circle Wash on Route 1
It's a lease, so who cares...go to Brunswick Circle Wash on Route 1
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I go to the hand wash place at my apartment complex and it's been pretty good so far.
I also agree with others that the touch less wash is ok as long as you don't let them touch your car before and after the wash. Ask me how I'd know......
I also agree with others that the touch less wash is ok as long as you don't let them touch your car before and after the wash. Ask me how I'd know......
#20
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I do use a coin op place in the winter, wash the salt off with the pressure washer and then wash the brush they have, then wash my car top down with the brush, when it warms up, like C43 said, I make sure I put enough coats of protectant on there to allow me to continue washing it through the winter like this...
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Mercedes-Benz
Originally Posted by Kev04C320
I go to the hand wash place at my apartment complex and it's been pretty good so far.
I also agree with others that the touch less wash is ok as long as you don't let them touch your car before and after the wash. Ask me how I'd know......
I also agree with others that the touch less wash is ok as long as you don't let them touch your car before and after the wash. Ask me how I'd know......
which hand was place would that be? Dr. Detail?
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'05 E320 CDI, '08 BMW X5 4.8i, '11 Duramax 2500HD
Originally Posted by Spartan
I pressure wash my cars in a coin-op in the winter. I NEVER wash my cars in a car wash and unfortunatly, I don't have any place to wash my car indoors. What I am going to try is to pressure wash the dirt, bring a bucket of CLEAN warm soapy water in a 5 gallon bucket and rinse it with their pressure wash. That way I still control the "scratch factor" and not have to worry about freezing up my driveway and making it into an ice rink.
The again, I could move to some southern states. I hear they have a "natural" car wash. (sic!)
The again, I could move to some southern states. I hear they have a "natural" car wash. (sic!)
NEVER use the tunnel washes unless they are brushless..
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04 E320 4 Matic, 95 Audi S6, 99 Carrera 4 Cabrio, 12 Fiat 500 Sport, 00 BMW R1200C 10, BMW R1200R
Originally Posted by 55fanatic
I do use a coin op place in the winter, wash the salt off with the pressure washer and then wash the brush they have, then wash my car top down with the brush, when it warms up, like C43 said, I make sure I put enough coats of protectant on there to allow me to continue washing it through the winter like this...
I should sell this stuff, but I don't have the time to mess with this kind of side business. But just in case, the product is "Car-Lack 68 Nano-Tech," I did a quick search in Google and I found these few articles that were written in English.
http://mbclub.co.uk/forums/showpost....2&postcount=67
http://www.autopia.org/forum/showthread.php?t=51537
So back to this thread's subject. I use this product and it never looses its beading action. My 1991 300E literally looked brand new! So what I still do to my Audi and Mercedes (the Porsche is sold now :-( ) is give it a nice coating in the fall and then simply rinse the car off at my old self service car wash. I have free use of it and I know they use good quality Lee soap on their high pressure warm water soap.
This coat lets the high pressure (about 1,100 PSI, I know this because I personally rebuilt and tested the Caterpillar pumps) warm soapy water wipes all the dirt right off. I keep the wand at least 12 inches away from the paint and wheels. After a thorough rinsing (this only takes about 5 minutes if you do each car part in a disciplined way) I rinse it with regular water. This car wash has a reverse osmosis system that makes it spotless dry. So I simply drive away and never touch the paint with a brush or towel. Weather permitting and when I feel like it I then re-wash my car at the car wash and wax it by hand. This keeps my cars looking like they just came back from the showroom floor.
Another thing that I always do is park the car in the wash bay with the front wheels turned in one direction or the other, but all the way to the end. This lets me get behind the front tires (from the front on one side and the back on the other) and clean the tie rod ends and all the suspension bushings. I then bend down and get the undersides and the back of the car as best as possible. By doing this I still have all 4 disk rotors on my W211 without one bit of rust on them after 16 months and 13,500 miles and then my dealer does not believe me when I tell him that I take this car off roading and up to the mountains in snow storms. He says that the car looks brand new from underneath and in the engine compartment. My Audi also is immaculate after 10 years! I will attach a picture of the underside of my Audi after 10 years and 83,000 miles in a snowy climate where snow removers are used. You will see that my method works quite well.
I have never taken my car to an automatic car wash. If I wash my car while I am away I always use a self-service place where I can control how the water hits my car. I find that well maintained cars make me like them more. If I let my car get dirty inside or out then I fell as if the car has aged. I still let my cars get filthy for a few days if the temperatures do not allow washing them. But on these occasions I restrict my driving to just one car and this keeps one in my garage that is clean.
All of this said, I only do this because it makes me feel great when people think that my 10-year-old Audi is a new car! Otherwise cars are just a hunk of metal.
Steve
I know these pictures are NOT a W211, but my W211 is still new and these pictures are of a car that is driven hard and is 10 years old. If rinsing the car’s engine compartment and underside and brakes works this well, imagine how well the wax protected paint is holding up.